Danny Gans Death Ruled Accidental

Las Vegas performer Danny Gans died on May 1. A family member had called 911 saying Danny was having trouble breathing. The official cause of death is an overdose of hydromorphone, which is a powerful prescription pain killer.

Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy announced that Danny officially died from hydromorphone toxicity due to chronic pain syndrome, and that other contributing factors which include hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and another disease that caused him to produce an abnormal amount of red blood cells.

Murphy says the drug built up to deadly levels, not because of drug abuse, but rather because of chronic use for a real pain condition. The drug did not clear out of Danny’s system due to his illnesses. Doctors should have given Danny something else for his pain if they knew his body wasn’t filtering it out properly. Narcan should have been kept at home in case of a "trouble breathing" emergency, since doctors would have been aware of the risks of chronic use by Danny.